CHAPTER 2 THIRTY-SEVEN MISSING SECONDS
The room fell into a silence so complete that even the soft hum of the air conditioning sounded deafening.
Thirty-seven seconds.
Out of an attack that had lasted barely three minutes...
Exactly thirty-seven seconds had vanished.
Not corrupted.
Not damaged.
Removed.
Richard Lawson stared at the frozen screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.
"This wasn't random."
He enlarged the timeline.
"The file wasn't physically cut."
"It was rewritten."
Dr. Adrian Bennett's jaw tightened.
"Meaning?"
Richard slowly looked around the room.
"Someone with administrator-level access entered the surveillance server..."
"...copied the original footage..."
"...removed thirty-seven seconds..."
"...then replaced the entire recording."
Elaine Parker's face turned pale.
"Can someone actually do that?"
Richard nodded.
"If they know what they're doing."
Marcus finally spoke.
"Who has access?"
Richard answered immediately.
"Officially?"
"Only five people."
Dr. Bennett.
The hospital's Chief Information Officer.
The Director of Security.
The IT Systems Manager.
And...
Richard himself.
Every pair of eyes in the room shifted.
No one spoke.
The implication was impossible to ignore.
The culprit had to be one of them.
Or...
Someone had stolen their credentials.
Isabella Rossi suddenly let out a shaky laugh.
"So everyone accuses me..."
"...while the hospital itself tampers with evidence?"
She folded her arms, confidence slowly returning.
"You don't even know what really happened."
Richard ignored her.
Instead, he plugged a small encrypted drive into the laptop.
"I never rely on one recording."
Marcus looked up.
"What do you mean?"
Richard clicked another folder.
"Every camera uploads two copies."
"The visible archive..."
"And a hidden emergency cache."
Dr. Bennett frowned.
"I've never heard of that."
"You weren't supposed to."
Richard's eyes never left the monitor.
"The backup activates whenever the system detects physical violence."
Elaine blinked.
"So we still have it?"
Richard's fingers stopped moving.
"No."
The hidden folder was empty.
Not deleted.
Not damaged.
Empty.
Someone had erased both copies.
Richard slowly leaned back.
"That changes everything."
Marcus looked at him.
"How?"
Richard spoke quietly.
"Very few people even know the emergency cache exists."
"Which means whoever deleted it..."
"...understood the hospital's security architecture."
Dr. Bennett's face darkened.
"Someone from inside."
Richard nodded.
"Almost certainly."
Three floors below...
The emergency obstetrics team raced Khloe through the brightly lit corridor.
Doctors shouted measurements.
Nurses prepared medication.
Machines beeped continuously.
Khloe barely heard any of it.
Pain radiated through her ribs.
Her vision blurred.
She could only think about one thing.
The baby.
A young doctor performed another ultrasound.
His expression changed instantly.
"No..."
The senior physician grabbed the monitor.
"What is it?"
"The placenta."
Everyone leaned closer.
Part of it had begun separating.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough to threaten both mother and child.
"Prepare for emergency surgery."
Khloe forced herself upright.
"No."
The doctor gently pushed her back.
"You don't understand."
"I do."
Her voice cracked.
"My daughter..."
The doctor looked at her sympathetically.
"We're trying to save both of you."
Khloe closed her eyes.
Deep inside...
She wasn't afraid of dying.
She was afraid her daughter would grow up in a family built entirely on lies.
Back upstairs...
Richard continued examining the server logs.
One tiny detail suddenly caught his attention.
"Marcus."
"What?"
"Look at this."
The login record appeared.
Administrator Access.
22:17:42.
Log out.
22:18:01.
Nineteen seconds.
Richard frowned.
"No human could navigate the server that quickly."
Dr. Bennett stepped closer.
"So?"
"So whoever did this..."
"...already knew exactly where every file was located."
Marcus stared silently at the screen.
Richard opened another window.
"This login originated..."
He stopped.
"What?"
Richard looked confused.
"It came from inside this suite."
Everyone froze.
Elaine looked around instinctively.
"That's impossible."
"There isn't even a computer here."
Richard slowly stood.
"There is now."
He walked toward an expensive decorative cabinet near the fireplace.
Most people assumed it contained wine.
Instead...
He opened it.
Hidden behind crystal bottles sat a sleek touchscreen terminal connected directly to the hospital network.
Dr. Bennett's eyes widened.
"I forgot this room even had one."
Richard examined the fingerprints.
The glossy screen had been wiped clean.
Professionally.
No prints.
No smudges.
Nothing.
Marcus stared at Isabella.
"You knew."
She laughed.
"I've never even seen that cabinet."
Richard interrupted.
"Maybe."
"But someone opened it tonight."
He pointed toward the cabinet door.
Fresh scratches surrounded the electronic lock.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
But new.
Someone had rushed.
Someone had been nervous.
Across the hallway...
A janitor quietly pushed his cleaning cart past the suite.
No one noticed him.
His uniform looked ordinary.
His badge appeared authentic.
He kept his head down.
One hand casually gripped the handle.
The other rested inside his pocket.
Wrapped around a small flash drive.
He walked toward the service elevator.
Calm.
Steady.
Almost invisible.
Inside the elevator...
He finally allowed himself to breathe.
"They're too late."
He smiled.
The original footage rested safely in his pocket.
Every second.
Every frame.
Completely intact.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
He answered.
A distorted electronic voice spoke.
"Status."
"The original recording has been secured."
"Any witnesses?"
"No."
A pause.
Then...
"Dispose of it."
The janitor frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Another pause.
"Especially the last thirty-seven seconds."
The line disconnected.
The janitor stared at the flash drive.
His expression slowly changed.
Confusion.
Because...
He had watched the recording.
All of it.
And what happened during those missing thirty-seven seconds...
Made absolutely no sense.
Back in the suite...
Richard suddenly received an alert.
His laptop beeped sharply.
He looked down.
Someone was trying to access the surveillance server again.
Right now.
From inside the hospital.
Richard's fingers flew across the keyboard.
"I've got them."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Can you trace it?"
"Almost..."
The digital map expanded.
A blinking red dot appeared.
Level Seven.
Maternity Wing.
Everyone looked toward the hallway.
Khloe's operating room.
Marcus's heart nearly stopped.
"Move!"
Without another word, he sprinted toward the elevators.
Dr. Bennett followed.
Security officers rushed after them.
Richard grabbed the laptop and ran.
Only Isabella remained standing.
For just a moment...
No tears.
No fear.
No performance.
A faint smile crossed her lips.
She whispered to herself.
"They're looking in the wrong place."
Then she quietly reached into the lining of her designer handbag.
Hidden inside...
Was another security access card.
Stamped with a name that made her smile even wider.
May you like
MARCUS THORNE.
END OF CHAPTER 2
